3. Kristine, pregnantwith twins in 2009, butstill part of the team4. Team Droopyin 2010

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“My dad rode originally for exercise, but the more
he did it, the more he learned about MS and the
movement,” she recalled. “It became very important to him.” And in April 2007, it became very
important to Kristine, too. “I saw what my husband was going through. I very quickly got motivated to help. I needed to do it for him.”

Growing the team

From the original six friends who gathered around
a campfire and resolved to ride for Jimmie’s sake,
Team Droopy has grown every year. They now
include fellow police officers (Jimmie is a police
officer), Kristine’s coworkers, childhood friends
and friends of friends. “The CEO of my company
even participates,” she said. “He drove up from
Oklahoma to ride with us last year.”
“The first thing I tell new people is it’s not a race—it’s
for fun,” said Kristine. “Then I tell people to make
a list of everyone they know—from church, family,
work, neighborhood—and go to those people. Just
ask—if you don’t, they won’t sponsor you.”
The team also designs and sells jerseys to raise
funds. “Jimmie has an orange Cheetos T-shirt that
he wears religiously, and we usually have the color

orange somewhere in the design. We take things
that are meaningful to him and tie them in.” As
for the team’s name, it comes from Jimmie’s high
school nickname. “They thought he looked like
the cartoon character Droopy Dog,” she laughed.

Jimmie joins in

Jimmie and Kristine have done Walk MS together.
And this summer, Jimmie is doing Bike MS, too.
He has found a disease-modifying medicine that
works for him. “He had lost feeling in his feet and
legs, but he feels he’s gotten a lot of that back. He’s
ready to ride,” said Kristine.

During the cold months, Jimmie trained on a stationary bicycle, using Training Peaks’ online help.
As soon as the weather warmed up, he started
riding outdoors. “He’s very positive,” said Kristine. “And honestly, seeing how well he’s doing, I
just want to do anything I can for him and all the
people with MS out there.”